Clapper

Clapper, musical instrument consisting of pieces of wood, bone, metal, or other sonorous substance either held in both hands or, fastened together, held in one hand, sometimes with a handle, and struck against each other. Clappers have been played throughout the world since ancient times, often with a ritual, warning, work-coordinating, or signaling function, rather than a musical one.

Egyptian ivory clappers, c. 2000 bc; in the British Museum, LondonCourtesy of the trustees of the British Museum, London

Clappers vary widely in size, shape, and number and arrangement of striking pieces. Varieties include spoons, bones, castanets, and small, tuned finger cymbals (“ancient cymbals”). Some Egyptian ivory sets (c. 2000 bc) are shaped like arms and hands, implying that clappers began as extensions of natural body sounds like hand clapping. The Greek krotala (Roman crotala) were dancers’ rattles, or castanetlike finger cymbals, and an extant Greek statue depicts a satyr playing foot clappers. The Roman scabella, derived from their Greek counterparts kroupezai, or kroupala, were wooden sandals used for beating time.

Oceania is rich in continuing examples: the Aboriginal peoples of Australia click two boomerangs, and Hawaiians click small stones set (ili ili) on each hand or two pieces of split bamboo (pu ili). Korean court-music ensembles preserve the ancient Chinese practice of signaling the start or end of a piece by quickly closing a set of six wooden slats strung together at the top (pak). Japanese courtly Shintō music is marked by the sound of shakubyōshi, two thin sticks, while Shintō folk dances may use long sets of attached wood slats (binzasara) with handles for each hand that clash as the arms are moved back and forth. In Kabuki theatre, a pair of thick wooden sticks (ki or hyōshigi) signals the opening and closing of curtains. In some neighbourhoods in Japan, following the English tradition, fire guards wander through the night, sounding clappers.

The Anglo-American tradition of bone or spoon clacking as the accompaniment to dance music or jazz is further evidence that clappers retain their vitality in many cultures.